Organic light-emitting display apparatus and method of manufacturing the same

Abstract

An organic light-emitting display apparatus includes: a substrate; a thin film transistor formed on the substrate; a pixel electrode connected to at least one of the source or drain electrodes; a pixel-defining layer having a first opening exposing at least a portion of the pixel electrode and a second opening adjacent to the first opening; an intermediate layer formed on the pixel electrode, including an organic emission layer, and having a first hole corresponding to the second opening; an opposite electrode formed on the intermediate layer; and first and second auxiliary electrodes formed below the pixel-defining layer, at least portions of the first and second auxiliary electrodes are exposed through the second opening, where ends of the first and second auxiliary electrodes are spaced apart from each other, and where the opposite electrode contacts the ends of the and second first auxiliary electrodes which are exposed through the first hole.

What is claimed is: 
     
       1. An organic light-emitting display apparatus comprising:
 a substrate; 
 a thin film transistor formed on the substrate and comprising an active layer, a gate electrode, a source electrode, and a drain electrode; 
 a pixel electrode connected to at least one of the source electrode or the drain electrode; 
 a pixel-defining layer having a first opening exposing at least a portion of the pixel electrode, and a second opening adjacent to the first opening; 
 an intermediate layer formed on the pixel electrode, comprising an organic emission layer, and having a first hole corresponding to the second opening; 
 an opposite electrode formed on the intermediate layer; and 
 a first auxiliary electrode and a second auxiliary electrode formed below the pixel-defining layer, whereby at least portions of the first auxiliary electrode and the second auxiliary electrode are exposed through the second opening, 
 wherein an end of the first auxiliary electrode and an end of the second auxiliary electrode are spaced apart from each other, and 
 wherein the opposite electrode contacts the end of the first auxiliary electrode and the end of the second auxiliary electrode, the end of the first auxiliary electrode and the end of the second auxiliary electrode being exposed through the first hole. 
 
     
     
       2. The organic light-emitting display apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the first auxiliary electrode and the second auxiliary electrode are formed on the same layer as the pixel electrode. 
     
     
       3. The organic light-emitting display apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the first auxiliary electrode and the second auxiliary electrode comprise a same material as the pixel electrode. 
     
     
       4. The organic light-emitting display apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein a size of the second opening is larger than a size of the first hole. 
     
     
       5. The organic light-emitting display apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein an end portion of the intermediate layer adjacent to the first hole covers an etching surface of the second opening. 
     
     
       6. The organic light-emitting display apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the first auxiliary electrode and the second auxiliary electrode comprise a same material. 
     
     
       7. The organic light-emitting display apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein a cross-sectional area of the first auxiliary electrode and a cross-sectional area of the second auxiliary electrode are substantially equal to each other. 
     
     
       8. The organic light-emitting display apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein light emitted from the organic emission layer is released toward the opposite electrode. 
     
     
       9. The organic light-emitting display apparatus of  claim 1 , further comprising an insulating layer formed below the first auxiliary electrode and the second auxiliary electrode,
 and wherein a portion of the opposite electrode contacts an upper surface of the insulating layer exposed between an end of the first auxiliary electrode and an end of the second auxiliary electrode. 
 
     
     
       10. A method of manufacturing an organic light-emitting display apparatus, the method comprising:
 preparing a substrate on which a thin film transistor is formed, the thin film transistor comprising an active layer, a gate electrode, and a source electrode and a drain electrode respectively connected to a source region and a drain region of the active layer; 
 forming a pixel electrode connected to at least one of the source electrode or the drain electrode; 
 forming an auxiliary wiring layer comprising a first auxiliary electrode, a second auxiliary electrode, and a connection wiring interposed between the first auxiliary electrode and the second auxiliary electrode and having a higher resistance than the first and second auxiliary electrodes; 
 forming a pixel-defining layer having a first opening exposing at least a portion of the pixel electrode, and a second opening corresponding to the connection wiring of the auxiliary wiring layer; 
 forming on the pixel-defining layer an intermediate layer comprising an organic emission layer; 
 forming a first hole in the intermediate layer and removing the connection wiring by supplying currents to the auxiliary wiring layer; and 
 forming an opposite electrode to contact an end of the first auxiliary electrode and an end of the second auxiliary electrode, the end of the first auxiliary electrode and the end of the second auxiliary electrode being exposed through the first hole of the intermediate layer. 
 
     
     
       11. The method of  claim 10 , wherein a cross-sectional area of the connection wiring is smaller than a cross-sectional area of the first auxiliary electrode and a cross-sectional area of the second auxiliary electrode. 
     
     
       12. The method of  claim 11 , wherein the cross-sectional area of the first auxiliary electrode and the cross-sectional area of the second auxiliary electrode are substantially equal to each other. 
     
     
       13. The method of  claim 10 , wherein forming of the auxiliary wiring layer comprises reducing a thickness of the connection wiring to be smaller than a thickness of the first auxiliary electrode and a thickness of the second auxiliary electrode by using a half-tone mask having a half-transmittance region at a location corresponding to the connection wiring. 
     
     
       14. The method of  claim 10 , wherein a width of the connection wiring is smaller than a width of the first auxiliary electrode and a width of the second auxiliary electrode. 
     
     
       15. The method of  claim 10 , wherein the connection wiring comprises a material having a higher resistance than the first auxiliary electrode and the second auxiliary electrode. 
     
     
       16. The method of  claim 10 , wherein forming of the auxiliary wiring layer and forming of the pixel electrode are simultaneously performed. 
     
     
       17. The method of  claim 10 , wherein the first opening exposes at least a portion of the pixel electrode, and the second opening exposes the connection wiring, an end of the first auxiliary electrode adjacent to the connection wiring, and an end of the second auxiliary electrode adjacent to the connection wiring. 
     
     
       18. The method of  claim 10 , wherein a size of the first hole is smaller than a size of the second opening. 
     
     
       19. The method of  claim 10 , wherein an end portion of the intermediate layer adjacent to the first hole covers an etching surface of the second opening. 
     
     
       20. The method of  claim 10 , wherein the end of the first auxiliary electrode and the end of the second auxiliary electrode are spaced apart from each other, and an upper surface of an insulating layer placed below the first and second auxiliary electrodes is exposed between the ends of the first auxiliary electrode and the second auxiliary electrode.